Democratic Governance

The project aims to promote and facilitate a knowledge-based decision-making process through its planned interventions by engaging all implementing partners including line ministries/divisions, civil society, research organizations, think tanks, academia and eminent persons.
Key objectives of the project include- improve knowledge management, promote knowledge sharing and innovation in programs and planning and promote south-south and triangular cooperation.

The formal justice system in Bangladesh is overwhelmed by the demand for legal recourse. But for the vast majority of the population, the prohibitive costs of formal justice, coupled with a poor understanding of legal matters, means that access to justice is outside their reach.

The National Human Rights Commission of Bangladesh (NHRC) is an independent statutory body formed under the National Human Rights Commission Act 2009. The NHRC serves as the major national human rights watchdog, monitoring implementation of state obligations to respect protection and the fulfillment of the rights of every citizen of society.

The Police Reform Programme (PRP) is a comprehensive capacity building initiative to improve human security in Bangladesh. PRP works to support the transition of the Bangladesh Police from a colonial style police force to a more effective and service-oriented police organisation.

The Union Parishad Governance Project (UPGP) aims to support the government of Bangladesh in meeting the Millennium Development Goals through effective, inclusive, participatory and democratic local governance.

The Upazila Governance Project (UZGP) is part of the programmatic framework of the UNDP and the United Nations Capital Development Fund to support the Government of Bangladesh’s local governance reforms. Upazilas (UZP) are Bangladesh’s second lowest tier of government.

From 2007 to 2011, UNDP supported the Access to Information (a2i) project to transform the public service delivery through a range of e-services, from simple SMS services on mobile phones to entire walk-in e-service centres that have been scaled up on a national level, catapulting Bangladesh into the digital age.

The Aid Effectiveness Project (AEP) aims to strengthen the Government of Bangladesh’s capacity to manage effectively the information related to aid and the governments systems in order to improve its development results.

Promotion and the protection of access to justice is a key priority for the Government of Bangladesh. But the justice sector faces several constraints in delivering timely, affordable and accessible justice. One of the barriers is the slow processing rate of cases and the accumulation of unprocessed cases. This backlog is placing considerable pressure on the sector and is hampering access to justice, whether it is due to too complex procedures, lack of effective case management between agencies, or outdated laws. A lack of coordination and cooperation between justice sector agencies, which are heavily interdependent upon one another, is another impediment in delivering justice efficiently.

Areas for Research, Engagement and National Agendas (ARENA) initiation plan aims to create a more conducive environment for stakeholders to participate in inclusive public policy dialogue about national on big society issues.

This project focuses on simplifying these processes with the introduction of ICT tools and is expected to reduce approval time significantly, improve responsiveness of development procedures and increase accuracy of ADP utilization data used for defining many macro level indicators and policy formulation.

OUR WORK - DEMOCRATIC GOVERNANCE

Since Bangladesh’s independence, the country has made significant progress in building and consolidating key institutions to safeguard its democracy and rule of law. Electoral-management bodies have been created, a National Human Rights Institution acts as a watchdog, and the government’s effectiveness is on the rise. The country continues to innovate and address, in a sustainable manner, the widespread issue of poverty and the impacts of climate change.